Edtech company, Physics Wallah (PW), has entered an equity partnership with Xylem Learning, an EdTech company headquartered in Kerala. PW has acquired a 50 per cent stake, and the cash and equity deal is valued at ₹500 crore, which PW will be investing over the course of the next three years.
The move is a bid to strengthen PW’s presence in the southern market. Xylem Learning will continue to operate as a separate entity. Xylem brings experience and presence in the Kerala market, enabling a thorough understanding of the local student community, said the company.
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Prateek Maheshwari, Co-Founder, Physics Wallah, told businessline, “Having a sense of local flavour and community is essential to growing in the southern markets, which Xylem has already built. It makes sense to enter through a partnership than reinvent ourselves when a good partner is available. Xylem also has cracked the hybrid model of teaching with a strong online and offline presence and we plan to replicate the same in other markets with the help of Xylem.”
Currently, Xylem Learning provides free classes to over 3 million students through their 30 YouTube channels. Additionally, it has more than 1 lakh paid students across its various online courses and 30,000 students in its offline/hybrid centres located across 5 districts of Kerala. It also operates 10 tuition centres and a school-integrated programme across 7 schools. It has also ventured into commerce and Kerala PSE test preparation and will continue expanding into other categories. Its pricing of the offerings is similar to PW in the online space, albeit is comparatively premium in the offline space.
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Ananthu S, Founder and CEO, Xylem Learning, said that the partnership will help the company to scale. He said, “Our journey has been similar to that of PW and we believe this collaboration will result in increased value for students. There will be synergies in terms of access to PW’s tech stack and even the exchange of content between both entities.”
Expansion plans
Xylem plans to expand to Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and other southern markets. In terms of international, it aims to strengthen its foothold in the UAE markets going forward. The company clocked revenue of ₹150 crore with 25 per cent EBITDA in FY23 and aims to clock ₹300 crore at the same EBITDA rate in FY24, Ananthu noted.
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Both PW and Xylem were established with the shared vision of democratising quality education for all. Their partnership serves as a testament to their aligned mission of making quality education accessible throughout India. This collaboration leverages the strengths of both platforms to deliver the best possible learning experience for JEE/NEET aspirants in South India, the company further said.
Previously, PW has acquired PrepOnline, Altis Vortex, iNeuron, Knowledge Planet, and others. Following the acquisition of UAE-based Knowledge Planet, PhysicsWallah is now also expanding to MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region. The company aims to clock revenues of ₹2,500 crore in the fiscal year and Maheshwari noted that a significant percentage of revenues is already collected and booked.